saying that POE is overrated is simply the point of view of one person, toph's opinion. which is more than fine. I know DDY himself, isn't overly pleased with POE , or at least, his contributions to the album.

But with that said, it was released at the heights of their power, contained some of their best and most guitar oriented material, which pleases me and it was a huge seller. The tour was massive as well.........so I guess the reaction from the fans indicates that it satisfied most fans.

I also think it holds up much better than most of their albums.......to me the run of of equinox, crystal ball, TGI and POE is more definitive of the "styx sound" than any other run.

Yes, cornerstone and PT and Kilroy all had various levels of success with PT being the most successful of those 3. But those albums all had significant changes in tone and delivery and writing.......which is fine, and I love all of their A & M albums.....but for my ears and my personal likes I think the period of 75-78 is the most productive and fruitful. Once again, I claim that with the understanding that I love all of the A & M albums.....so I am not putting the others down, simply stating what i find myself returning to the most often.

masque wrote:saying that POE is overrated is simply the point of view of one person, toph's opinion. which is more than fine. I know DDY himself, isn't overly pleased with POE , or at least, his contributions to the album.

DDY has said during the writing and recording process for PO8 he was suffering from "writers block". This may explain why he feels this way about the album. He may feel the songs he did are not to the level of his personal standards.

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." George Washington

masque wrote:saying that POE is overrated is simply the point of view of one person, toph's opinion. which is more than fine. I know DDY himself, isn't overly pleased with POE , or at least, his contributions to the album.

DDY has said during the writing and recording process for PO8 he was suffering from "writers block". This may explain why he feels this way about the album. He may feel the songs he did are not to the level of his personal standards.

I disagree with DDY's assessment. I think the title track is one of the most underrated songs in the Styx catalog and should have been the lead single. The rest of the album?...meh.

Renegade and Blue Collar Man are two of the greatest pure rock songs EVER. To both be on the same album is incredible.

Queen of Spades is a cross between a GREAT rock song and a great progressive song all in one. Pieces of Eight is a brilliant progressive rock song. This is just side 2 of Pieces of Eight. Its an EPIC side - Its PERFECT!

yogi wrote:Renegade and Blue Collar Man are two of the greatest pure rock songs EVER. To both be on the same album is incredible.

Queen of Spades is a cross between a GREAT rock song and a great progressive song all in one. Pieces of Eight is a brilliant progressive rock song. This is just side 2 of Pieces of Eight. Its an EPIC side - Its PERFECT!

The entire album is AWESOME!!

If you listen to DDY's podcasts, an interesting one regarding Babe and also how Renegade charted and how it was a huge mistake to not release it as the first single off the album.

The stories I've heard is that there was a lot of disagreements within the band and within the A&M organization on the singles for Pieces of Eight. I am much closer to the Cornerstone and beyond era, and I think he will go into that next. Anyway, interesting listen.

I would have released Queen of Spades right after Blue Collar Man, then Renegade ( when they did). Sing for the Day would of been released after Renegade and then I would of released an edited version of Pieces of Eight.

yogi wrote:I would have released Queen of Spades right after Blue Collar Man, then Renegade ( when they did). Sing for the Day would of been released after Renegade and then I would of released an edited version of Pieces of Eight.

My way I bet they ALLLLL would of charted back in the day.

I would have gone- Title Track (Top 10)- Renegade (Top 10 - listen to what DDY said about Renegade and why it didn't go higher than #16)- Sing For The Day (Top 30)- Queen of Spades (rock track)

Blue Collar Man was not the best song to release as a single. Look at its chart result. The lead single that follows an album like the Grand Illusion should have done MUCH BETTER. BCM is maybe the fifth best song to release as a single on that album. Maybe release it AFTER QoS to ALBUM ORIENTED ROCK stations. But as a pop single? Nope! Dumb move, Styx.